‘The Dawson’ to debut
Sandown commemorates two Club stalwarts
The Sandown Greyhound Racing Club today announced the latest addition to its Group
race calendar, the $58,000 Group 3 ‘The Dawson’, in conjunction with recent changes to the
long-term structure of the Victorian metro calendar
To be run over Sandown’s famous 515m sprint distance, The Dawson series will
comprise of heats and a final open to the best 32 greyhounds nominated, and will carry $40,000 to
the winner in its first year.
The race acknowledges the contributions of long-serving Sandown Chairman and Ken
Carr Medallist Geoff Dawson and his late wife Loretta.
Geoff joined the Sandown Greyhound Racing Club as a member in 1960, joined the Board
in 1979 and has served as Chairman since 1987. His wife, Loretta, was the daughter of former
Chairman (the late) Henry Harrison, and has often been described as the Club’s unofficial
matriarch. Despite never having (formally) held a position of power at the Club, Loretta was
widely considered as the driving force behind two of the Club’s longest serving Chairmen.
The heats of the inaugural Dawson will be run on 28 May 2009 with the final on 4
June 2009. Future series of The Dawson will ultimately be scheduled to coincide with the final of
Australia’s richest race for stayers, the Group 1 Sandown Cup.
